Teton Sunrise (Teton Romance Trilogy) (6 page)

Rage such as he’d never felt before coursed through Alex. His blood pounded through the veins in his temples, and the muscles tensed throughout his body. He wanted to kill each and every one of these men who leered at the helpless girl, their intentions only too obvious. There was only one way he could get Evelyn safely away from these men, and Alex pushed his way through the crowd. He didn’t stop to give another man a chance at her, and offered a price that he felt confident no one would meet. If need be, he was prepared to double his offer. One look at Evelyn Lewis, and he knew he’d give his life for her at that moment. The naked fear in her eyes reminded him of his mother each time she faced his drunken father. Alex hadn’t been able to keep her safe. He was not going to fail this time.

“What has gotten into you,
mon
ami
?” Laurent shouted, startling Alex to loosen his grip on the man’s shirt. With a forceful shove, he pushed the Frenchman away from him, releasing his hold. Laurent hastily straightened his shirt, and glared at Alex, then his mustache twitched and he smiled broadly.

“How the hell is it that she is here, Laurent?” Alex demanded. He inhaled a deep breath to calm his nerves, and turned his head slightly to the side.

“It is not something I planned, I assure you,” Laurent said, and pulled his coonskin cap from his head, slapping it against his thigh.

“Jed Smith asked you to go to St. Louis to try and find out what those thieves from the American Fur Company were up to, not to abduct white women to barter here at rendezvous.”

Laurent scoffed. “You know as well as I that I would never wish such a fate on any woman, much less one as lovely as Mademoiselle Lewis. She gave me no alternative but to bring her along.”

“Explain yourself, Laurent.” Alex glared at the Frenchman.

Laurent nodded. He turned and pulled the saddle from his horse’s back, and tossed it against a nearby tree trunk. “Walk with me, my friend,” he said quietly, and his eyes darted around as if looking for someone. “I do not wish to be overheard.” He headed in the direction of the woods, leaving Alex no choice but to follow if he wanted some answers.

“I trust the young lady is safe?” Laurent asked after several minutes of silence.

“I left her with Aimee Osborne,” Alex grumbled. His chest suddenly tightened at the memory of
Evie
in his arms. Just before she lost consciousness, she’d looked him in the eyes and recognized him. Alex was startled to see renewed fear in those green eyes of hers. He’d never been close enough to Henry’s sister to notice the color of her eyes, not that he’d ever been interested in that sort of thing before.

“She will be well cared for.” Laurent nodded in approval. “I could do nothing for her while we traveled over the mountains,” he added quickly, and shot a hasty look at Alex. “I could not reveal my cover. Surely you understand.”

Alex’s eyebrows pulled together. “Start at the beginning, Laurent.”

Laurent nodded. “I met up with Oliver Sabin’s crew shortly after I arrived in St. Louis,” he began. “A quick demonstration of my knife and pistol skills, and they were more than willing to hire me on.”

“Sabin and his men have been sabotaging Jeb Smith’s supply boats for years,” Alex remarked. “How did
Evie
. . . Evelyn Lewis end up on one of those boats?”

Laurent’s twitching lips and twinkling eyes didn’t escape Alex’s notice. He clenched his jaw. 

Laurent cleared his throat. “Her brother sought the services of Sabin and his men.”

“Henry Lewis?” Alex raised his eyebrows. He remembered his childhood friend’s eagerness to join him on his adventure in the wilderness, but duty to his family prevented him from going along. Had he finally decided to give up his life as a farmer? That still didn’t explain how
Evie
ended up with Laurent.

“Shortly before the boat departed, I noticed a young woman disguised as a boy get on board. I intercepted her. You can appreciate my surprise when she revealed her name, and that she was trying to follow her brother.”

Laurent stopped walking. He turned fully toward Alex. A wide smile spread across his face. “I have done you a great service,
mon
ami
.” His teeth gleamed white in the sunlight.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Alex avoided Laurent’s much-too perceptive stare.

“Mademoiselle Lewis. She is the lady you have talked about, no? You refuse to return to St. Louis. I have brought her to you.”

Alex cursed under his breath. He should have never discussed his time in St. Charles. The meddlesome Frenchman had insisted on knowing why Alex had returned to Jackson’s Hole with a bullet in his chest. His body had been combating a fever, and in his delirium he must have talked about seeing Evelyn. Laurent had relentlessly pestered him for information afterwards. Laurent, a free trapper, had been his friend for years, and Alex had spent several winters at the Frenchman’s cabin that he’d built at the base of
Les
Trois
Tetons
.

“I don’t want her here.” Alex forced the words from his mouth. “She should be at home, safe on her folks’ farm.”

“And marry the man her brother chose for her? A man she does not love?”

Alex’s head shot up. His eyes narrowed. “Why would Henry choose a husband for
her.
Where is he, anyhow?”

Laurent studied him before he spoke. “Henry Lewis is dead. Sabin killed him. There was nothing I could do to prevent it. I have done my best to keep the little
mademoiselle
safe from Sabin and his men. I knew you would be here when we arrived, and I made sure her name spread through camp. I was certain that you would come and claim her as your own when you heard.”

Alex ran a hand up the nape of his neck. The last thing he wanted was
Evie
here in the wilderness, near all these trappers and mountain men, and least of all, near him.

“Why couldn’t you simply scare her off that boat?” Alex’s mind churned. What was he going to do with her? There was no denying that she stirred feelings in him that were as foreign as an encounter with a friendly Blackfoot. He’d felt similar stirrings the day he saw her in St. Charles, and although her appearance was vastly different today than the woman he had seen then, holding her in his arms had ignited a longing deep inside him unlike anything he’d ever felt.

Laurent let out a bark-like laugh. “Walker, do you really believe that she would have simply returned home if I had chased her off that boat? She would have found another vessel; mark my words. That little
mademoiselle
has a spark in her that is not so easily squelched.”

Alex gnashed his teeth in frustration. He remembered Henry’s little sister as a plucky girl, annoying and meddlesome. She’d often tag along when he and Henry went off into the woods. He’d simply chosen to ignore her back then.

“Why would she follow Henry into the wilderness?” he wondered out loud.

Laurent’s eyes widened briefly. He tilted his head to the side and then leaned toward Alex.
“Why, to kill you, my friend.”

*****

Evelyn slowly forced her eyelids open. Her lips parted slightly, and she raked her teeth against her dried lips. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her parched mouth, and she couldn’t swallow. She moaned softly, and forced her legs to move. A sharp pain seared up her spine, and when she tried to bring her hand to her face, her arm felt as if lead anchors were attached to the limb.

Blinking, she stared up at what appeared to be the covering of a cone-shaped tent. She turned her head and glanced at the animal skins that served as walls in the dimly lit space. Evelyn groaned and braced against her elbows to raise herself up off the ground. A thick furry hide covered her, which fell from her shoulders. She shuddered at the sudden blast of cold air against her skin.

Evelyn sucked in a startled breath, and hastily pulled the cover back over herself. She was nude! Her heart pounded fiercely against her chest, and she gasped for air.
Dear God! What happened?

Holding the fur tightly against her body, she rolled to her side and sat up. The blood rushed from her head, and she braced one hand against the ground to stave off the dizziness. She tried to blink away the black swirls in front of her eyes. Frantically, she scanned the interior of the tent, hoping to spot her clothing. More furs were piled in heaps across from her at the other side of the tent, and several large leather pouches leaned against each other. An assortment of wooden bowls littered the ground.

The beating of her heart increased. Memories of the weeks of traveling through the mountains with those vile mountain men flooded her mind. Henry was dead. The Frenchman, Laurent, had sold her like a steer at auction to the highest bidder. That barbarian who bid for her had carried her off, much of his face covered in thick black hair. Those blue eyes of his had stared down at her as if he could see right through her. They were familiar eyes; the eyes of the boy she had lost her youthful heart to all those years ago. He looked exactly like the savage Henry predicted he had become.

No! Please, no!
She had stared directly at her parents’ murderer. Evelyn pulled the fur covers further up her neck and squeezed her eyes shut. How long had she lain here, and what had Alex done to her while she was unconscious?

Chapter 5

Evelyn gingerly pulled her legs up underneath her and sat up fully. She made sure the blanket was wrapped tightly around her. Loud voices and boisterous laughter drifted from outside of the tent, dogs barked, and a horse whinnied in the distance. Several times, gunshots went off somewhere nearby, and she cringed. Getting caught in the crossfire on the boat was still fresh in her mind. These men . . . these trappers were nothing but uncivilized savages.

She continued to scan the dim interior of the tent, searching for her clothing. A small part of her wished the illness had killed her. Her body no longer felt feverish, but her face flushed hot with shame at the thought of what that wretched beast had probably already done to her. She tried to block out the images that came to her mind, and was glad that she had no recollection of it. She could no longer be seen in civilized society after what fate had dealt her.

Wiping away the tears that rolled down her cheeks, Evelyn inhaled a deep breath. She refused to dwell on what had happened, and didn’t want to think about what lie ahead. Was there any hope to get out of her predicament? Alex Walker now owned her and could do with her as he pleased. There would be no one here to help her.

“What did he do with my clothes?” she mumbled through gritted teeth, her frustration growing when she couldn’t spot anything that even remotely resembled something she could wear. She didn’t dare move from her spot on the soft pile of furs and animal skins. After weeks of sitting and sleeping on nothing but hard ground, the furs beneath her were almost as comfortable as her bed back home.

The tent flap suddenly moved, and bright light streamed into the interior. Evelyn shrank back, and held her breath. She clutched the cover tighter to her body. To her surprise, the head of a young girl with long dark hair appeared through the opening. She stared at Evelyn, and her lips widened in a smile. She turned her head and yelled over her shoulder, “Mama, she’s awake.”

The girl stooped over and stepped into the tent, letting the flap fall closed behind her.

“We were wondering when you were going to wake up,” she said, and sat on the ground next to Evelyn. Her bright smile hadn’t faded. She reached a hand up and held her palm to Evelyn’s forehead. “Your fever’s gone, too. Mama was hoping the willow bark tea would do some good. She didn’t know why you had a fever, but she’ll be glad to see you’re better now.”

Evelyn stared at the girl. She looked well groomed, her dark hair braided in one long rope down her back. She wore clean buckskin britches and a blue cotton shirt, and almost reminded Evelyn of an Indian maiden. Her startling blue eyes, however, were a sure indication that she was white. A soft hint of lavender drifted to Evelyn’s nose. What she wouldn’t give for a bath with some soap.

“I’m Sarah,” the girl continued. “What’s your name?”

Evelyn cleared her throat. “Evelyn Lewis,” she
said,
her voice raspy. Her throat felt as dry as a parched cornfield in summer. She clutched the fur covering tightly to her chest.

“Oh, here are your clothes,” Sarah said as if she just remembered something, and reached into the large pouch that hung from her shoulder. “I washed them for you, and mended a few of the holes.”

Relief swept over Evelyn as the girl held out her britches and shirt.

“Where am I?” Evelyn asked, and licked at her dried lips. Who was this young white girl?

“You’re in my mother’s medical tent,” Sarah answered. “She’s a healer who takes care of all the injured and sick trappers that come to rendezvous each summer. Some of those dumb men just don’t know how to stay out of trouble. They always have to prove how tough they are, and most of the time they end up getting shot or worse. It’s a good thing Alex brought you here. You had a very high fever.”

Evelyn’s heart jumped at the sound of
his
name. Alex had brought her to someone for care?